My Mirror, my Sword and Shield
by A Black Queen
Summary: Tony Stark needs a bodyguard. Pepper Potts gets him a bodyguard. Bruce Wayne is that bodyguard. Spoiler Alert: No one is really happy with the results. At least not yet. [Tony Stark/Bruce Wayne Developing Relationship]
1. Arguing Pepper

**I know what you're thinking. Why am I starting yet another fic? Especially when it takes me _forever_ to update the ones I have already up? The answer is simple: you can blame my too creative and obsessive brain, and S_tarkind_ for all the cheering and just being generally awesome after I mentioned this plot bunny. Seriously, if it wasn't for _Starkind_ and her constant support, you wouldn't be seeing this any time soon.**

**So, yeah. Any comments or constructive criticism are more than welcome and very much appreciated. Enjoy!**

******I don't owe **The Dark Knight trilogy, Iron Man **or any of its characters, sadly.******

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**OoOoO**

**Chapter I: Arguing Pepper.  
**

"Yeah, no."

Pepper Potts sighed one more time, looking away from her boss as she took a moment to regain her composure.

Looking back at him, she had to remind herself yet again she was here because she actually _liked_ Tony, and wanted him to stay alive. It was very hard to remember that when he acted like this. Not to mention she had him to blame for her constant headaches. And she could already feel another one coming. _"Tony-"_

"I'm a big guy, Pep. I escaped from that god forsaken cave by myself and got help, didn't I? So, I don't need some over-muscled brainless macho following me around like a lost puppy. And that's the end of that." Tony dismissed without even taking his eyes away from his STARK pad.

"This isn't a game, Tony. The threats are getting more serious every time."

The firm tone in her voice made Tony lift his eyes to look at her. "You shouldn't worry too much, Pep. They had the chance to kill me and they blew it. Now they're just trying to intimidate me because their endless supply of weapons is about to be cut off." Pepper gave him a dubious look. "The reason behind the threats may be new, but this isn't even my first time, you know. They'll get bored with the whole "We're going to dismember you, limb by limb and put your head on a stick" at some point. Trust me.

"Besides, you have to admit some of those threats were pretty creative."

Pepper pinned Tony down with a hard glare, hands clenching tightly around the arms of her chair. "Stop that. Just- _stop."_

Tony opened his mouth to talk, but stopped at the sight of her quivering form. At this point he wasn't sure if it was anger or something else entirely what made her react that way.

"Do you think this is funny? That there's nothing wrong with the fact there are people out there that want you dead!? You were _shot_ at just four days ago," Pepper reminded him. "You may have been uninjured, but Happy was shot. Do you find that funny?"

Tony averted his gaze, brow furrowed slightly as he glared down at his desk. Happy's injury hadn't been serious; just a shot to the shoulder, through-and-through. His life hadn't been in danger at any moment, but that didn't change the fact that that bullet had been meant for _him._

"Security has intercepted half a dozen people that had somehow managed to infiltrate the company. That's without mentioning the several hacking attempts that have been thwarted." Pepper stopped to take a breath, gaze never leaving Tony's face. "You know I support your decision to change the direction of the company. It may be insane, but I do. But you need to start treating this seriously, Tony. For once in your life, you need to act like _a damn adult."_

"Do you want me to act like an adult? Fine! As an adult, I can tell you there isn't a damn thing I can do to stop this. Unless you want me to keep giving them the tools to kill people, in which case we should do _another_ press conference and give them our number so we can negotiate a better deal."

"That's not what I mean and you know it." Pepper's furrowed brow relaxed as she sighed softly. "I told you before I'm with you on this, but I need you to try to understand what I'm telling you."

Tony leaned back in his chair, fingers tightening around his STARK pad. "Do you think I don't understand? I do. Perfectly. I understand this so well that I know locking myself at home, or curling into a ball on the floor and cry isn't going to help me. Just like neither would a bodyguard."

"You don't know-"

"I damn well do! It's _my_ life on the line here. I think that gives me the right to decide what to do, and I don't need or want a damn bodyguard." That wasn't enough; he could already see the protest forming on her lips. "Or what? You think that just because you're going to put at risk the life of someone you don't know that makes it okay?"

The words made Pepper flinch, just like Tony had intended, but she didn't backdown. Without saying a word, she met his gaze steadily; assessing blue eyes meeting hard brown ones.

It was Tony who looked away first. The movement was seemingly casual, but Pepper knew better. She would have stopped working for Tony Stark within days of starting if she hadn't found out there was more to him than what he showed the world. Even more than what_ he_ believed of himself.

"It wasn't a request. I already got in touch with a security company and they've assigned you a security detail. You're meeting with your personal bodyguard tomorrow."

Tony blinked, watching Pepper reach for her smartphone on the desk before rising from the chair. "You do know I'm the boss, right?"

Pepper stopped at the door, hand on the knob. She took a deep breath, whispering without turning around, "You may not care if you get hurt- or killed, but there are people who do."

She left without another word, leaving Tony to blink at the closed door of his office.

**OoOoO**

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**a/n: So, what do you think? Would you guys be interested in reading any more of this little fic? Let me know! Some of you may wonder why Iron Man ****would ****need a bodyguard, and the answer is, he isn't Iron Man yet, and wouldn't be for a little while. In this AU, Tony _will_ work in creating the suit, but his main concern will be the company, contrary to what happened in IM, so the suit wouldn't be done quite so fast. ****  
**

**This is going to be kind of a series of snapshots of different moments between them rather than a serialized story. They would be posted in order and the fic as a whole will have some plot, just, the chapters wouldn't be continuous if that makes any sense. Anyway, ****Bruce will be ****making an appearance in the next chapter, naturally, and I can tell you right now the meeting between these two isn't going to be pretty. So wait for it!**

**As all of my fics, this is unbetaed and I'm not native speaker, so please feel free to point out any mistakes.**

**The title was taken from the song "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay.**


	2. Meeting Bruce

**Thanks so much to everyone reading, reviewing, following and favoriting this fic. You guys rock!**

**Now, I got a comment on one of my other fics the other day, suggesting I should move my fic to the Batman or Iron Man main pages in order to get more people's attention since the crossover category isn't all that popular. After some thinking I decided to give it a shot, so that's why I've moved this to the Iron Man section. I know this may be annoying to you all, and I don't want to keep shifting this fic around, so the next chapter would be posted in the Dark Knight trilogy category, and after that, it would be back to the crossover section. So make sure you follow this if you want to keep up with it. Thanks again, and sorry for the ****inconveniences.**

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**OoOoO**

**Chapter II: Meeting Wayne.**

Tony leaned back in his chair as the other man stepped into his office. He didn't even try to be subtle as he eyed him from head to toe, gaze deliberately lingering a bit too long in certain ... areas. If he was being forced to go along with this crap, he would make_ damn_ sure everyone involved would be hating this just as much as he did. Starting with the man in front of him.

Tall, dark, and handsome. And dangerous. That was Tony's first thought as he laid eyes on the man.

Bruce Wayne.

He took in the broad shoulders, the short dark brown hair and piercing hazel eyes. The dark suit and tie, while not anywhere near Tony's expertly tailored suits and expensive ties, looked pretty good in the man's body. All in all, the man was more than _fine_ and Tony had to wonder if getting him a hot bodyguard had been a must in Pepper's evil schemes while searching for one. If it had been, he had to give her points for that.

Bruce could feel Stark's eyes on him as soon as he put a foot in the man's office. He hid his annoyance behind a blank mask, focusing on his surroundings instead. His ability to keep a cool head at all times and the tight control he kept over his emotions were part of the reason he had been assigned to keep Tony Stark alive. That _and_ Alfred's unusually wicked sense of humor.

The first thing that flared a red flag was the floor-to-ceiling glass windows behind Stark's desk. The glass was bulletproof, he knew that, but nevertheless represented an unnecessary security risk for someone with as many threats as Stark had. But then again, according to the man's assistant Stark wasn't thrilled with the idea of having a security detail, so perhaps he wasn't too concerned about his security.

Tony tapped a finger over his mouth as Wayne came to stand at the other side of his desk, gaze lowering to meet Tony's eyes.

"Mr Stark. My name is Bruce Wayne. I've been assigned as your bodyguard," He said in a smooth, deep and a little bit of a sexy voice, his face impassive as he extended a hand to him. With that voice, it was quite possible the man had a side job working in a sex phone line.

Tony eyed the long, strong fingers for a second before waving a hand in dismissal of the offered hand. "Oh please sit down. I'll hate to have you towering all over me while we talk."

Bruce withdrew his hand and sat down without a word, not even a shift in his expression.

Elbows resting on the arms of his chair, Tony regarded the man for a moment. "So, you're my appointed babysitter, huh?"

"At your assistant's request, I was appointed as your personal bodyguard."

Tony waved his hand dismissively. "Same difference." There hadn't been any notable changes in the man's face since he stepped in. "Pepper told me you're supposed to be one of the best in the company you work. Or at least, that's what your boss told her."

"I'm good at my job."

The words were spoken in a firm, confident tone. There was no bluff at the words, but neither modesty. Just the simple statement of a fact.

Interesting.

"Well, Brucie- Can I call you Brucie? You can call me Tony if you want. No, scratch that. Call me Tony. Mr Stark makes me feel like I'm one step from the grave." Tony shuddered dramatically. "And really, with all the money your company is charging us, I sure as hell hope you're as good as they sell you as."

"Your assistant didn't raise any concerns regarding the amount that was presented to her," Wayne said, meeting Tony's eyes straight on. "However, I can assure you Mr Pennyworth would be willing to negotiate a more suitable agreement if you were to express your disagreement."

"I'll keep that in mind." _Damn it._ Wasn't there a way to annoy this man? Was he a robot or something? Anyone else would have rolled his eyes and pointed to his huge company and his billions. True, the company's stocks hadn't fully recovered from its free fall after his little press conference, but he still had money. A _lot_ of it. Enough to still be one of the richest men alive.

Fine, time to change tactics.

"I don't mean to be insulting or anything, but you don't look all that threatening and bodyguard-like to me. Aren't bodyguards supposed to be all huge and scary? Like the monstrous bodyguard of the daughter of that crazy Arab cult leader, Al Gurd or something?"

Bruce's expression remained neutral, even when he recognized immediately he was talking about the bodyguard of Talia al Ghul, daughter of Ra's al Ghul, CEO of a huge multinational company in Orient. But Ra's was much more than that. He was also the leader of a select and "mysterious" terrorist group referred to as the League of Shadows. It was an extremist group, labeled by some people as a cult because of the secretive manner in which it operated. Their real purpose and harsh actions were unknown to the general population, as was any real information on Ra's, given the influential people covering for him.

It had been by mere chance that he had ended knowing more about them than what he would have liked. Pulling himself away from his thoughts, Bruce turned his attention back to the annoying man before him, waiting for his reaction.

"Our company doesn't hire personal on the basis of physical size, _Mr Stark._ In our experience, is not possible to intimidate someone with the will and means to harm someone else if they so desire. Our job involves a thorough investigation to uncover the source of the threat and a permanent work in thwarting any attempts made against your life." Bruce paused, an idea forming in his head as he watched Stark tap his pen against the sleek, glass desk. "Of course, I can give you a demonstration of my skills if that would help ease your concerns in the matter."

Tony arched an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair and eyeing the man. This was getting very interesting suddenly. He loved it. "That sounds great. Let's do that."

Bruce rose from the chair, watching the billionaire do the same. Stark walked around to the front of the desk and coming to stand before him, a smug grin on his face. Bruce eyed the playboy critically. He knew what he was about to do would earn him a stern lecture from Alfred, when the older man found out (how he had no idea, but Alfred always knew everything) but it would be worth it anyway.

Before Tony could fully understand what was happening, Wayne closed the short distance between them, and with a series of coordinate, too-fast-for-the-eye-to-follow super ninja moves lay him-none too gently-on the floor. Tony tried to look as dignified as possible while sitting at the other man's feet. He blinked up at Wayne, who was looming over him casually, arms crossed against his chest and simply put, looking as if he hadn't moved at all.

"Okay, you've made your point. But I don't think that attack your possible future employer is a very smart move."

For a second, Bruce considered offering Stark a hand to stand up, but, in the end decided against it, watching Stark slowly get to his feet, the brief sense of satisfaction giving way to amusement. He made sure to keep his expression blank. "I can assure you that was not an attack, Mr Stark. I was merely addressing your concerns about my qualifications. And I have already been hired."

"I could fire you, you know."

"I was hired by your assistant, Miss Potts. Technically she's my employer, not you."

Tony cocked his head, a smirk forming on his lips as he leaned against the side of his desk. _"My_ assistant, which makes her _my_ employee, which makes _me_ her boss. So technically, _I_ can fire you if I want to."

"Are you going to fire me then?" Bruce questioned with an eyebrow arched.

"No," Tony admitted after a moment, brown eyes gleaming. "At least not yet. I'd _love_ to see what else you can do."

**OoOoO**

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**a/n: Yep, one of them was bound to end on the floor- who am I kidding? _Tony_ was bound to end on the floor in the first meeting. Bruce is the one with the training after all. As I'm sure you can already guess, Alfred is the owner/founder of the security company where Bruce works (yet another twist in the employer/employee relationship, I know. Coffee shop AU, anyone?) and likes to make his life a bit difficult. Or at least that's what Bruce thinks. They love each other anyway. In a non-romantic way, of course. **

**Of course, you can expect Tony's payback in the next chapter (or at least part of it) because of course he isn't going to let this go. Have I mentioned Tony would be meeting his security detail then? lol! I bet you can already imagine all the embarrassment Bruce is going to go through in the next chapter, which it's going to bring several Batman characters into the mix. It should be interesting.**

**Anyway, feel free to point out any mistake you may find.**


	3. Meeting the Team

**Thanks so much to everyone reading, reviewing, following and favoriting this fic. And sorry about the delay :)**

**Like I said in the previous chapter, I'm moving this fic to the Dark Knight section temporarily, so people who don't check the crossover section can get the chance to read it. Make sure you follow this if you want to keep up with it, since after the next chapter it will be back to the crossover section. Sorry for the inconveniences!**

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**OoOoO**

**Chapter III: Meeting the "Team."**

A couple of short taps on the door of his office were the only warning he got before the door was pulled open.

Only two- no, _three_ people could get past his grouchy, upright secretary unannounced, so he didn't bother moving from where he was leaning back in his chair, feet resting on the glass desk in front of him.

Mrs. Louise Moore, his secretary, was a fifty-something-year-old woman with old fashioned clothes, glasses, and hair always pulled back in a neat bun. Pepper's idea of teaching him a lesson, naturally. Chosen after she had been forced to hire five different secretaries for him in only a month. Two of them had left in tears and one threatening to sue him. Tony sighed fondly. Good times.

Mrs. Moo Moo, as he called her (much to her indignation and anger) was efficient and smart and sharp as a tack, which no one of his previous secretaries had been. Like, ever. She had a large repertoire of chiding remarks she spent her day handing out like candy. Her only joy in life, Tony was sure since she had divorced a long time ago.

Pepper was pleased, he was resigned, but not defeated, and anyone that came to his office and hadn't met her before was surprised to meet _The_ Tony Stark's secretary. They all expected a stripper playing dress up. Not that Tony blamed them, really, because he wanted that too. _But_ Pepper.

Tony looked up from his STARK pad, sending the redhead's way one of his patented smirks.

"You're a mind reader, Pep. I was just about to call you."

Pepper cleared her throat softly; slim, long fingers drumming methodically against the half-open door. "Mr. Stark. There is a group of people here to see you."

Tony arched a well-groomed eyebrow, honestly impressed by Pepper's ability to convey both a plea _and_ a threat for him to behave in a single facial expression. Wow. Just wow. Because of that-and only that-Tony decided to play along with her for a little bit, swinging his feet off the desk and putting on an interested if not amused expression on his face.

"Ooo-kay."

Pepper's fingers clenched tightly around the edge of the door for a second. She took a breath before stepping aside, pulling the door open to reveal one familiar face among a group of non-familiar sour-faced men in dark suits.

A grin spread across Tony's face as he placed his pad on the desk. "Brucie, come in! Oh, and your little group of gloom and doom buddies too."

There was no reaction from the men behind him; the muted sound of their feet against the cream colored carpet the only noise and yet- _and yet,_ Bruce could almost sense the amusement irradiating from them. He kept his expression carefully blank and his hands lax at his sides, knowing Stark was just trying to get a rise out of him.

"Mr. Stark."

Tony walked around his desk coming to stand before Wayne, holding out a hand for him to shake. Wayne might not have reacted, but Tony caught several levels of amusement in the other men's faces. Great! Finally, something he could work with.

"That's Tony to you. Anyone who gets me on the floor on the first date automatically gets to switch to first name basis, Brucie-bear."

A sharp inhale of breath; Pepper, a snort of laughter; the man with blond hair, blue eyes and cleft chin, a poorly concealed laugh behind a cough; the youngest of the group with dark hair and eyes, and a boyishly handsome face; a slightly wide-eyed look; the man with short dark hair, blue eyes and a ridiculous mustache; a grin covered by a hand; the man in the back with tousled brown hair and amused hazel-green eyes.

And then there was Wayne, and the blink-and-you'll-miss-it slight twitch of his left eyebrow, which meant annoyance. Which meant a reaction (as small as it was) from Mr. "I'm a Tough Guy and Show no Emotions Ever." Tony smirked, flashing him a wink, and like any good host, guided them to the stylish black leather couch in the far corner of his office.

The couch was long enough to accommodate three of them with plenty of space between each other but left the pretty face rookie with no place to sit. Tony, being the gentlemen he was, pushed one of the visitor chairs in the boy's direction, getting a quiet 'thank you' in answer as the boy pulled the chairs beside the couch and sat down.

Tony turned to Wayne, an eyebrow cocked. "Want one too?"

"I'm fine. Thank you, Mr. Stark."

Tony pouted, watching Wayne come to stand at the empty side of the couch, arms crossed over his chest.

"I told you it's Tony. To-ny. T. O. N. Y. Tony. Come, you can do it. It's not that hard."

Miss Potts cleared her throat loudly before Stark could go on with his inane chatter, attracting not only the billionaire's attention but also the attention of the rest of the men in the room. Even Bruce looked in her direction out of the corner of his eye. The woman said nothing and yet her hard, narrowed blue eyes said loudly what she thought of Stark's attitude. Bruce was pleased to notice his initial impression of the woman may be correct, given that she didn't simply went along with whatever her employer said or did.

"Oh! Where are my manners? Would any of you, gentlemen, like something to drink? Or anything, really."

"We're fine, Mr. Stark." Wayne replied before either of the men could speak up, even though Tony was sure at least one or two had been about to. Well, well, well. There was no doubt who was in charge here. He kind of liked that. Tall, dark and handsome and with a giant stick up his ass was the boss. No big surprise there.

Tony turned his head to see Pepper still standing in the doorway, clearly torn between a, staying to try to keep him in line- Hah. No, but seriously, she would definitely apologize profusely for any possible offensive remark his smart mouth made while glaring daggers at him. And act as damage control more than anything, really. Or b, flee to the safety of her office and forget about him for a couple of minutes, looking up pics of cute kitties or something like that while the urge to throttle him went away.

She had always been a very wise, very practical woman, so of course, she chose the second option. But she did not leave without first shooting him yet another pleading/threatening look to no hassle too much the men that were supposed to help keep him alive, and sending their way an apologetic smile.

Tony waved as he watched her go. Once the door clicked shut, he walked to stand before the mysterious men sitting on his couch. He leaned back against his desk, legs crossed at the ankle as he regarded them for a moment.

"Okay, so. Who are you all again?"

"Mr. Stark, allow me to introduce you to John Blake, James Gordon, Gerard Stephens, and Harvey Dent. They're your personal security detail." Bruce introduced them in the order they were sitting, and each nodded as his name was called.

"Yeah. Okay. No. You can keep the whole three hundred sixty degrees of human shield for the president or the Pope. So thanks for coming, really, but you can all get the hell out of my office and my company right about now. Good-bye."

"Mr. Stark-"

"Fuck Mr. Stark! I don't want a bunch of weird dudes following me around the whole damn time. I agreed to have him," He jerked his thumb at Wayne. "following me around, not a fucking little army of minions. That's going to ruin my reputation."

By the look on the other's faces, Bruce could tell he wasn't the only one irritated by Stark's dramatic outburst, not to mention wondering what reputation they were going to ruin, exactly, considering Stark had done a good job of destroying any good reputation he ever had himself.

"You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Stark." Mr. Mustache started after a moment of silence, his voice gentle yet firm. "We presented our procedure to Miss Potts and she agreed that a discrete approximation was more suitable for this particular situation."

"Great! What's that supposed to mean then, _Jimbo?"_ Tony felt his grin widen as he saw the man's mustache twitch in irritation. Hey, there was no reason he couldn't play a little bit with the others as well. It looked like they all could use some fun, not just Wayne.

"It means we will keep a rotating shift schedule, where two of us will be with you whenever you're in public, but will keep a low profile, as well as a significant distance from you at any given moment. All of us are trained to blend into any crowd and neither of us would have any kind of contact with you whatsoever. With Wayne guarding you closely, we will keep our distance and would be alert to spot any sign of a threat."

Tony said nothing to that, and he definitely wasn't pouting as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the man.

He wasn't about to admit he had no other critic or objection about their plan, other than his stubborn determination to be against anything having to do with this. They had made sure he wouldn't even have to deal with them, so no problem. And, well, it was also a very reasonable plan, looking at these guys with their lanky frames and overall non-threatening demeanors. Really, he would have burst out laughing at the idea of those guys being bodyguards if he wasn't too annoyed by the prospect of having a security detail following him around.

But of course, Pepper was smarter than that. He should have never doubted her.

And kinda maybe he was being a bit unfair because Goldilocks looked like he could throw a punch or two, and take a few too. And, while Mustache might not seem all that big and strong, he looked like he could hold his own. The kid, Blake, may not be all big and muscular, but he seemed fit. As for the other guy, well, Tony still had his doubts. He looked kinda old.

"Then I guess I shouldn't wave if I see any of you guys around, huh?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce could see Harvey was barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes, among other things. Harvey had never been someone to put up with other people's bullshit.

"Even if we will not have close contact with you, Mr. Stark," the blond started, hard eyes fixed on Stark's face. "It is important you know who we are, so you may be able to recognize us in case of an emergency."

"Oh. I get it. You mean if Brucie-bear here has to jump in front of a bullet to save my life. I should know to trust you guys to cover my ass in his place, then, right?"

A heavy silence descended over the room as soon as he said the words, giving Tony a pause. There was obviously something going on here he didn't know about, and that something was obviously big, which kind of pissed him off because how come he didn't already knew about it. He was Tony Stark, genius billionaire.

He had investigated the company and its more high-profile customers, for god's sake. He had dug even deeper on Wayne's career and assignments as soon as Pepper had given him his name, and there had been nothing about a tragic shooting of some famous businessman or celebrity, nor a situation that went downhill while in Wayne's presence. So what the fuck was going on here.

It was a mystery. And, Tony loved mysteries more than anything. Except maybe fucking. And booze. Okay, it was a tie.

"That could be a possibility, yes. But I can assure you there are several other less dramatic scenarios in which it would be on your behalf to be able to recognize them in a crowd, Mr. Stark."

"Tony." He corrected absently, looking at Wayne.

The finality in Wayne's voice, the words he said. It wasn't any of that what finally made Tony shut up (at least for now) It was the glimpse of something in the man's too dark eyes. That was what did the trick.

It wasn't long before Tony kicked the men out with lies about having work to do, 'because he had a company to run, you know?' He needed time to think. Time to consider if whatever secret being kept was worth his time.

He didn't need to think too much. It wasn't like he had a lot to do right now, not to mention it could give him an edge over Wayne and his guys.

Tony leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled in front of him. He just needed time to make a little bit of snooping around; hack some stuff, violate some laws and stuff like that. Nothing out of the ordinary.

He let his secretary know he wouldn't be seeing anyone else (which didn't surprise her, really) and then he got to work.

The dirt on Wayne and those guys wasn't going to come up by itself.

**OoOoO**

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**a/n: I'm not fully happy with this chapter, to be honest. It has been stashed away along with my other unfinished/almost done drafts for a while now and after weeks of not knowing what else to do with it, I finally edited it again and decided to post it already. I hope it wasn't too bad. That's obviously part of the reason why this update took so long, so, I'm sorry about that.**

**The other reason is that I caught the movie "Something Borrowed" a couple of weeks ago on TV, and my fangirl head immediately jumped up and down with a new plot bunny (as if I needed any more, right?). I'm not going to tell you the movie it's a masterpiece or even all that good or original, but it made for a good watch and got my Bruce/Tony heart and head all worked up. Needless to say, I'm currently working on a story based on the movie's plot, which may take a while to show up because I want to have all-or, at least a big portion of it-written before I start posting anything.**


	4. Meeting Obadiah

**Thank you everyone for the reviews, favorites and follows. You have no idea how much it means to me, and I hope you're still interested on reading more of this fic after so long. Enjoy!**

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**OoOoO**

**Chapter IV: Meeting Obadiah.**

Tony took off his sunglasses as he stepped out of the elevator, stopping at the sight of Pepper and Wayne (his new babysitter) talking quietly outside her office. He eyed speculatively the large brown paper bag Wayne held in one hand before walking toward them with a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here," Both turned to look at him; Wayne with a blank expression and Pepper with a bit of a wary look. "You're looking especially stunning today, Pep. Love the dress. It really brings out your eyes."

Pepper lifted an eyebrow. It wasn't unusual for Tony to give her compliments sometimes-he was Tony Stark-but they were normally reserved for when they were alone, or when there was a large number of people around.

"Good morning to you too."

"Brucie. You're looking pretty hot too. Are you alone this time?" Tony made a show of looking around for his 'security team', shoving the sunglasses into his jacket pocket. "And is that a new suit? For a bit there I thought it was a lighter shade of black."

"Mr Stark."

Tony sighed loudly. "What I'm gonna have to do to get you to stop calling me Mr Stark, huh?" He turned to Pepper with a pleading look and pouting lips. "Pepper, he doesn't want to call me Tony. Tell him I'm his boss and he has to do what I tell him to do."

Pepper held back an eye roll just barely, and instead sent an apologetic look in Wayne's direction before looking back at Tony. "You may be his employer and my employer too, Mr Stark, but this is still a free country."

Tony gasped, bringing a hand to his chest and using the other to point his index finger at Wayne as he turned huge, accusing eyes at the other man.

"Look what you just did! You turned my lovely Pepper against me!"

Bruce gave the billionaire a blank look, clearly unimpressed by his overdramatic act. The only thing Stark was after was attention, and he wasn't going to get it from him. He got enough from everyone else around him.

"Tony, stop acting like a child," Pepper scolded before turning to the other man. "Mr Wayne, I ask you to _please_ try to ignore anything offensive he may tell you. In fact, ignore him altogether if necessary. I've done that plenty of times myself."

"Hey!"

One of the corners of Bruce's lips twitched slightly at the redhead's words. Any slim, lingering doubts he may have had about the relationship between Virginia Potts and Tony Stark being more than a mere professional one were gone now. The woman's honest concern for Stark's safety had been the first proof of that, of course, but what he had seen of Stark's behavior around her so far confirmed that theory and showed it went both ways.

It was none of his business, of course, but seeing Stark's smirk and Miss Potts's exasperatedly fond look, he couldn't help but wonder if their relationship went beyond friendship. He hoped that wasn't the case. He could only speak based on the little he had seen so far, but Virginia Potts seemed like a remarkable woman; intelligent and perceptive, not to mention beautiful. She certainly deserved better than to be involved with a selfish and arrogant man like Stark.

Pepper was looking at Tony's new bodyguard with a touch of curiosity when the smartphone in her hand started to ring. She lifted it to check the ID caller before turning back to her employer.

"You," Pepper started, pointing a finger in Tony's direction. "Behave. I left the Carter Tech proposal on your desk. Please, at least skim through it so the unfortunate incident from the last meeting doesn't happen again. Oh, and Obadiah was looking for you." She turned to the other man. "Mr Wayne. I guess I will see you later."

"Of course."

She turned around with the phone in her ear, walking to her office without giving Tony a chance to reply.

"There's something I'll like to discuss with you, Mr Stark."

Tony arched an eyebrow at the taller man. "Sure, why not. Anything that keeps me from reading that boring proposal is good."

With an elaborate wave of his hand, Tony led the man in the direction of his office at the end of the long hallway, in the opposite direction of Pepper's.

"Morning, Moo Moo."

The woman behind the desk spared him a glance over the rim of her thick glasses.

"Good morning, Mr Stark." The older woman's grim expression and flat tone shifted into cordial and gracious ones in a second. The sharp lines around her mouth relaxing slightly as she turned to greet the other man. "Good morning, Mr Wayne."

"Mrs Moore."

Tony rolled his eyes at the scene before him, barely stopping himself from throwing up his hands in frustration. _He_ was the billionaire stud here. _He_ was the charismatic, handsome businessman named one of the sexiest men alive in several magazines. _He_ was the man of the hour; the one everyone loved and wanted a piece of. Yet, his secretary had nothing but scorn and disappointment for him, and yet she liked his admittedly ridiculously sexy, but upright and dull bodyguard. Of course she liked Tall, Dark and Broody. He was as boring and sober as her.

Stark went on his way without another word, throwing the doors of his office open dramatically and marching into the room without looking back. Bruce gave the older woman a small nod before following after the billionaire. He closed the door softly before walking toward the desk where Stark was leaning on.

"What's that?" Tony asked with a nod at the paper bag as soon as Bruce came to stand before him.

"This is for you."

"Why, thank you, Brucie-bear. You're a sweetheart." Tony beamed, taking the bag from Wayne's stretched hand. "I'll say you shouldn't have bothered, but that's not..."

Tony pulled the light object out of the bag. "Your gift is a bulletproof vest," Tony said flatly. "And one manufactured by my own company at that."

Now that he had put a stop to weapon manufacturer in the company, he had started investing more resources on protective gear and other protective-rather than offensive-non-lethal weapons. Upgrades to bulletproof vests and other shielding items had been one of the main fields Tony was betting on, of course.

The vest he was holding was a mix of covert/overt vests; the concealed bulletproof thinner than traditional overt and harder wearing than normal covert vests. Which meant it could be used over clothes, but was still thin enough to be used under clothing unnoticed.

"We considered you would be more comfortable using a vest fabricated by your company. We ran some test and found that overall, the quality of your company's vests is similar to the vest we provide for our clients."

"Are you saying that your vests are better than my vests?"

Bruce ignored the challenging tone. "There are minor discrepancies between weight and thickness in both vest, but both offer the same level of protection."

"Is that so?" Tony asked, shoving the bulletproof vest back in the bag. "Well, if you guys keep me alive, I can offer you a discount next time you need to buy more vests."

"I would recommend you put on the vest immediately."

"We haven't even gotten to first base yet and you already wanna see me half naked?" Tony said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"I can step outside."

A couple of knocks were heard before Tony could reply, and the door was pulled open just a second later to reveal a bald man in a suit, with a thick beard and a smile on his face. He flickered his eyes briefly in Bruce's direction, before looking at Tony.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Of course not! Come in, Obi," Tony waved him over. He had dropped the bag to the floor, beside his desk.

Bruce studied the smiling man as he walked forward to where Stark and he were standing.

He knew who the man was, of course. And not only due to the research that had been done on Stark and his inner circle after Miss Potts' contacted the company. The man had entered the public eye after assuming control of Stark Industries after the death of Howard Stark and had tried to remain in the spotlight-with little success-after the Stark heir took over the position, even if he remained as Stark's second-in-command.

It wasn't until Stark's capture during a trip to Afghanistan almost seven months ago that the older man had resurfaced, once again taking control of the company, and becoming the public face in any official statement regarding Stark's situation, which consisted mostly of laments about the capture and assurances that they would find and bring Stark back.

Not to mention the multiple statements affirming the people responsible would pay for their crimes.

Stane clapped Tony in the back as he came to stand at his side, his smile widening as he threw an arm around his shoulders. "If I didn't know you any better I'll think you were hiding from me, Tony."

"Pffff! Me? Nope. Never."

Tony winced slightly when Obi laughed too close to his ear and discreetly moved away, making him lose his hold on him.

"I don't think we have the pleasure," Stane stated, finally turning his attention to the other man in the office.

"Oh, right. Obi, Brucie. Brucie, Obi."

"Obadiah Stane, Vice President of Stark Industries," Bruce didn't miss the _peculiar_ way in which the older man stated his title as he reached for the hand held out to him. The deep tone in his voice, the straight line of his shoulders and the glint in his eyes. There were pride and arrogance, but also something else. Something Bruce couldn't quite put a name on.

"Bruce Wayne. I'm in charge of Mr Stark's security."

Obi looked back at Tony with raised eyebrows, but Tony could tell he wasn't truly surprised. He knew everything that happened in the company, after all. Maybe Pepper had already spoken to him about this.

"Well, Mr Wayne. I speak as Tony's friend, as well as the representative of all those who work in this company when I say I expect you to do a _damn good_ work keeping this man alive. Otherwise, you'll have a lot of people to answer to."

"I intend to do my work, Mr Stane."

"Now, now, Obi. Please don't go scaring away Brucie here. That's my job."

Bruce held Stane's gaze straight on. The man was assessing him, even if he wasn't sure if he attempted to determinate the veracity of his words, or just studying him. It wasn't until Stark cleared his throat that the man pulled his eyes away, turning to the billionaire.

"There's something I'll like to discuss with you, Tony. If you're done with Mr Wayne, of course."

"Sure. We were just chatting a little."

"Excuse me," Bruce said with a nod at both men before walking away, taking the words as the dismissal they were.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Obi looking after Wayne; eyes narrowed and lips pressed together. And, okay, he had been doing exactly the same thing, true, but he was Tony Stark so that wasn't really a surprise. But this kind of was.

"He's hot, isn't he?"

Stane laughed loudly before shaking his head. "I think I'll leave that to you, Tony."

"Well, he is. Pepper sure knows who to pick 'em."

"What's that?" The older man sat down with a nod at the bag on the floor.

"Just something from production. Wanted to check it out," Tony dismissed, walking to the other side of his desk and dropping into his chair.

Stane's expression turned serious as he looked at Tony, hands steepled together before him. "You didn't tell me thing were getting more serious with the threats against you."

"That's because they aren't."

"You have a security detail now, Tony."

"Oh, that was all Pepper. You know her. Always worry and worry about everything. She even arranged everything without telling me anything."

"Pepper has always been very ... proactive."

"She has, hasn't she?"

"Yes," Stane leaned back in his chair. "She shared her concerns and even brought up the idea of hiring a security detail for you, but I didn't know she had gone ahead with it." He paused. "I'll trust she took the best decision to face this nasty situation."

"Mmm," So Pepper hadn't told Obi about this either. _Interesting._ "You wanted to talk about something else?"

"I do," Stane admitted. "There are some concerns from the board of directors we need to discuss."

Tony rolled his eyes. Did those guys never got tired of going against him at every turn?

**OoOoO**

* * *

**A/N: **I honestly have no words to express how sorry I am for letting you guys wait so long for a new chapter. *hides away in shame*

This chapter is dedicated to those who are still interested in this story, and are reading even after so long, but especially to _Starkind_ for being utterly awesome and loving the idea of this fic so much. I promised an update for this story as soon as I resurfaced and here is it, finally. I hope you liked it!

If everything goes according to plan, the next chapter should be up a lot sooner, and would have Bruce visiting Tony's mansion, and of course, meeting JARVIS.


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